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16 May 2014

Done: WIN-Zimbabwe Founder & Director Beaven Tapureta poses with his certificate after completing the arts management ''Train the Trainer'' course last week at Pakare Paye, Norton. He is flanked on his right by European Union ambassador Aldo Del l’Ariccia and on his left, the Culture Fund Board Chairperson Mrs. M. Mukonoweshuro. (Photo courtesy of AFAI & Mthabisi Phili)

It’s not what one achieves but what one overcomes that makes
a person earn respect, said Zimbabwean music legend Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mtukudzi when he
addressed a group of artists who had come for a “Train the Trainer” workshop at
his arts centre Pakare Paye in Norton. We are not going to get into detail about
what he later said but lets meditate on the wisdom of the words quoted. We have come to associate Tuku’s music with wisdom and no doubt the man
is blessed with it.

While at WIN we acknowledge there are ups and downs, we
are always guided by the spirit to overcome. In writing, as in life, no one
opts to lose but to win. We hope that our writers will take this
time to write and read as much as they can.

We are aware of the anxiety, the hunger of our
members. Nothing matters now but to overcome whatever hurdles come our way, for
only that defines who we are - WIN.Please
enjoy.

The intensive five-day arts management training course
held at Pakare Paye Arts Centre, Norton, will remain an unforgettable learning experience
for a group of local arts managers who were drawn from different arts and
culture sub-sectors.

The customized workshop, running from May 5 to 9, was
co-facilitated by African Arts Institute’s Business Development Manager Belisa
Rodgrigues and Project Coordinator Ayanda Mpono, both from South Africa.

The first day, which was devoted to understanding the
local context of cultural leadership, started on an ‘autumn’ note as most
artists had come directly from the hectic Harare International Festival of the
Arts (HIFA) where they had been participating.

When the mood gained momentum, the workshop turned out
to be a valuable learning experience as learning partners were taken through a
series of activities in arts management.

Practical topics that were mainly dwelt upon include
cultural leadership, learning approaches, ICT, fundraising strategies, and various other issues related to facilitation skills.

Apart from the intensive programme, the arts managers
also had a chance to meet the founder of Pakare Paye Arts Centre, multi-award
winning musical icon Oliver Mtukudzi who talked about the centre’s history and
vision before he played his newest song to the group.

Mtukudzi had words of wisdom for the group and expressed
his joy at hosting the workshop. He said he founded the centre with his wife to
rescue new artistic talent.

Albert Chimedza, who is the Director of Gonamombe
Mbira Centre, was also invited to speak to the group on the second day of the
workshop. Chimedza noted the sad environment in which artists operate and said
there is need for an entrepreneurial spirit in the arts sector. He also spoke about
the newly created Zimbabwe Chamber of Creative Arts Industries which he chairs.

The Chamber was
formed last year in October at the annual arts Indaba in Harare to lobby and
serve business interests of local artists and whisk them from dependency on
donor-funding, said Chimedza.

The moment of festivity came on the evening of last
day when workshop participants were presented with certificates by the European
Union ambassador Aldo Del l’Ariccia and Culture Fund Board Chairperson Mrs.
M. Mukonoweshuro.

As participants comprehended the workshop not as an event but a
process that will build up to some tangible results, a meeting was called for after
the workshop to draft the way forward for the group. Thoughts shared include
partnering and conducting regular meetings in the future.

The workshop in pictures

(All photos courtesy of AFAI & Mthabisi Phili)

Chipo Bhasopo presenting

Part of the ICT session included how best arts managers and organisations can develop online strategies to enhance their work

Dudu Manhenga stressing a point while Tariro NeGitare attentively listens

Belisa Rodrigues, co facilitator

The inspirational evening when the arts managers met with superstar Oliver Mtukudzi

In my last article I revealed a young writer who
approached me on Facebook expressing his views and difficulty on putting his
work out there and being noticed by the public.

Luckily he would like me to mention him by name….he is known as Masimba Batirai and lately I have been reading a sample of the novel that he has been working on entitled “Peter Norpic and the Unstoppables”.

After communicating with him
for the past 2 months he stated that because of the disappointing comments he’d
received from people who had not even considered reading his book; at some
point he’d lost motivation and eventually a number of months had
gone by without him even continuing with his novel. I found this to be
extremely depressing because the worst thing a writer can ever do is give up on
his/her talent. You have to work for what you want and God always gives you
what you worked for.

I know how I feel when I have finished writing a
specific piece. It is small-mindedness and fear when another author/writer restrict himself or herself to a certain genre only because
it is seen as something that is more appealing and he/she actually is influenced to change what he/she has written. If one restricts him/herself, he/she can only be considered as
someone who has a closed mind and afraid to experiment. Life is about trial and
failure, if at first you don’t succeed try again.

After a long talk to encourage my Facebook writing friend to finish what he
started he agreed and I can happily say that he has gone back to work.I have seen and heard so many adults always
wondering and complaining, asking themselves why there are not enough writers in
Zimbabwe and this is the reason. Too many youngsters are not given the chance
to really express themselves the way they want to but are only told to play it
“safe.” You cannot restrict someone and give him or her limits because that
crazy idea could have one day become something popular.

I would like to articulate the summary of his book.
This novel is about a normal 12 year old boy, living with his troublesome top
genius little sister Chloe, his dog Yoyo and the rest of his unruly family. The
only thing that’s not normal about him is that he frequently experiences some
rather abnormal dreams that seem to only occur on Thursdays and Fridays. After
some time he goes on a whirlwind of adventures with a group of strange but
worthy friends otherwise known as the Unstoppables!

So far from what I have read, the author really is
talented. With just the proper amount of guidance he has the potential to be
better than he is today. His work is from a first person point of view, where the
character talks about his life on a day to day basis; touching on topics such
as social issues and family relations. However if such talent is ignored then
we are truly missing out. We cannot keep expecting to see the same genre being
presented within the older generation as nowadays these genres are continuously
evolving. The only reason why they are evolving is because young minds are
slowly taking over and some adults may not realize this but they are actually
being highly influenced by what the younger generation is interested in as of
late. Vampires for instance are not only burning in sunlight like how they used
to when we were growing up but some authors have changed their characters
and have made them glisten instead. In the past witches and wizards used to be
only considered as evil spirits or beings but now in some stories they are
a healthy mixture of good and bad. Animals used to just bark as dogs, meow as
cats and whine as pigs but now they are being personified as humans and last but
not least angels and demons have been included in many different scenarios
whereas before they were only spoken of in the Bible.We have to look and watch out for a lot of
these changes that are going on every single day and realize that the world of
literature is limitless, it is abundant and our mind can stretch to places that
we may not even realize at this point in time.

Who knows how many more young and undiscovered talents
there are out there in the world, but we will never know if barely anyone is
being given the opportunity to really shine. I on the other handwill forever try my best to make it a point
to at least mention one or two people who I think have the potential to be
great but the question is will you be brave enough to do the same?